Don’s Dossier: Daggers & Daisies

Don Corrigan serves up his weekly opinion about who deserves a dagger for being a foe to the environment and who deserves a daisy for being a friend of the environment.

This week: Daisies to Joe Edwards – His Moonrise Hotel In St. Louis Is Among The Greenest Locations Nationally and Daggers to Donald Trump – His Windy City Hotel Ranks Among Least Eco-FriendlyChicago Buildings

Daisies To Joe Edwards’ Moonrise Hotel, which has been rated among 15 of the greenest hotels in America by Eco-Friendly bloggers such as Jessica Cohen, who reports: “After doing extensive research, we’ve narrowed down the greenest hotels search to 15 destinations based on their commitment to environmentally-friendly business and social practices…

“The Moonrise is a leading eco-friendly boutique hotel with a variety of sustainability efforts,” according to Cohen. “Glass solar panels power the whole rooftop, including the Rotating Moon, the popular outdoor bar, and the indoor/outdoor Twilight Room. The solar panel roof also powers most of the floor below the rooftop. The hotel has a property-wide recycling program, and donates leftover soap and food to non-profit organizations. The Eclipse restaurant is Green Dining Alliance certified, featuring locally sourced organic foods from nearby growers and farmers.” The Moonrise Hotel in the University City Loop Area also is known for sponsoring many green and environmentally friendly events.

Daggers to the President’s Trump Hotel in Chicago, which fares very poorly in Chicago surveys of green and energy-efficient buildings. Donald Trump is no friend of the environment – and based on energy use data from the city – neither is his trademark Chicago Hotel. Of the 100 largest buildings listed in Chicago’s 2016 Energy Benchmarking database, the president’s 98-story riverfront tower ranks last in energy performance. The rating is based on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star scoring system. Trump Chicago would benefit as much as almost any building from energy-saving measures. But there’s no indication the building’s owner will take advantage.

According to WTTW Chicago Public Media, Trump Chicago would benefit greatly from energy-saving measures, but the president/hotel magnate seems uninterested. WTTW reports that two days after Trump’s election, Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, wrote on the organization’s blog about the uncertain future of energy programs under Trump. “We need to be ready to defend against legislative or administrative attempts to roll back current energy efficiency policies, programs and funding, which could wipe out the major energy bill savings, job growth and health benefits that we have achieved,” Nadel wrote. “President Trump has said very little about energy efficiency … years ago, he said green buildings have not been perfected yet and that it takes 40 years to get your money back… ”

Daggers & Daisies, a regular weekly opinion feature of Environmental Echo, singles out friends and foes of the Earth for attention. Readers are encouraged to submit their nominees for Daggers & Daisies at environmentalecho@gmail.com.